LSU Women No. 1 in DI with Oregon Charging; Arkansas Men Remain on Top - USTFCCCA

LSU Women No. 1 in DI with Oregon Charging; Arkansas Men Remain on Top

Courtesy: Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

February 19, 2013

NEW ORLEANS - The LSU women held on to the top spot in what has become a game of top-five musical chairs in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Team Computer Rankings, while the Arkansas men retain their firm grasp on the men’s No. 1 rank.

Behind national top-10 performances from Denise Hinton (No. 4 weight throw – 70-9¼/21.57m) and Keri Emanuel (No. 10 long jump – 20-5¾/6.24m), the LSU women gained 6.77 net points to increase their nation-best team score to 169.22 and remain on top for the second consecutive week.

Three-time defending indoor champion Oregon made a big surge from No. 5 to No. 2 on English Gardner’s successful debut in the 60 meters at this weekend’s Millrose Games, where she bested a field featuring Olympians to win in 7.19 – the second best mark among collegians this season. The Ducks gained 15.32 net points as a result and sit at 151.95 team points, poised to make a run at a fourth consecutive national championship – a feat last accomplished by LSU when the Tigers won five-straight from 1993-97.

The rest of the top five teams remain closely bunched together and in position for an opportunity at a national championship, with Arkansas (146.06) at No. 3, Clemson (143.26) at No. 4 and Kansas (138.92) at No. 5.

Arkansas’ men have been ranked No. 1, and comfortably so, in every edition of the National Team Computer Rankings this season. This week is no exception as the Razorbacks check in with 213.07 team points.

As in the women’s rankings, a three-time defending NCAA Champion lurks in the second position, this time in the form of Florida. The Gators have a team total of 129.25, and will have the opportunity to pit their best against the Razorbacks’ and No. 3 Texas A&M’s (86.67) this weekend with the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Texas Tech jumps two spots to No. 4 (77.99), matching its all-time best program ranking from weeks 1-3 of the 2011 season. Nebraska also moves up two positions (73.12) into the fifth spot.

The National Computer Team Rankings project how a team will finish in a National Championship Meet setting, rather than a triangular or dual. The rankings are compiled from meet data in the 2012-13 season.

The next round of computer rankings will be released February 26. The 2013 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., March 8-9.